Internal-combustion engine



Aug. 30,1927.

1,640,696 0. J. ECKLAND INTERNAL I COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed s! 19.26 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a! O O Y 5.7 6;

W fat? 4.1

m v 4/ I fiJearjfi'cfiw m INVENTOR WITNESS I ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 30, 1927.

fiTATES renter;

PATENT en ries.

osoan J. ECKLAND, orowosso, MICHIGAN.

INTERNAL-CCMLB'USTiON ENGINE.

Application filed May- 19,

degree of power may be developed'than is,

ordinarily possible. 7

An important object is to provide an en gine of this character so constructed and arranged that lateral strain will be prevented at all times so that the pistons may glide freely within. the cylinders without likelihood of wearin the cylinders out of round.

Still another obyectof the inventlon is to a provide an engine inwhich the crank case is entirely separated from the cylinders, leakage. at this point being consequently entirely avoided. v

Still another object is to provide an engine in which the various piston elements are all carried by the same piston rod, it being consequently impossible for there to be any relative movement.between'the various pistons. I I

A further object of the invention is to provide an engine of this character provided with a novel arrangement of intakeand exhaust ports together with by-pass elements permitting the previously compressed charge of gas or explosive mixture to pass from the compressing chamber to theexplosion chamher in an automatic and absolutely efficient manner i i An additional object is to provide an en nine of-thistype which will be comparatively simple inexpensive in manufacture. easy to set up and use, positive in action, efficient and durable in service, and a general improvement in the art-. V Y I vi' ith the above and other objects and advantages iiiview, the invention consists in the details of construction, and the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinin which admitted to the I 1926. Serial No. 110,228.

after more-fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical cross section through an en 'ine constructed in accordance with this invention, and

V Figure 2 is an end elevation, partly broken away and in section, illustrating the valve arrangement and operating means. I

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the base of the engine upon which is formed or with which is connected the crank case 11 which may be of any preferred or ordinary con-- struction and formed of any suitable or necessary number of parts detachably or otherwise connected, the former being preferable in order to give access to the interior for the purpose of making repairs, adjustment and replacement. In the present instance this crank case is represented as provided at opposite sides with removable cover plates. 12 and 13, the latter being provided as a closure foran extension housing- 14. Journaled through the crankcase is the crank shattlaand journaled through the housing 14 is a cam shaft 16 driven from the crank shaft as by means or intermeshing gears. 17 and 18 respectively. EXteriorly of the crank case, the crank shaft prefer ably carries a fly wheel 19 and there'is' counterbalancing means or weight means indicated at 20 to compensate for the connect-inn rod 21 which is connected with the crank portion 22 oi the crank shaft. Throughout this portion and the remaining portion of the cescription, it will be observed that reference cylinders, as will be readily apparent. I

Suitably secured to or formed upon the upper portion of the crankcase is a cylinder block 23 beneath which is secured a cross head guide 2% which extends downwardly into the crank case clearlyillustrated in Figure 1. The bottom of the cylinder block 23, which bot-tom is indicated by the reference character 25, s provlded with a stufiing box 'orpackmg gland 26 through which is s'lidably mounted a piston rod 27 equipped at its lower end with a cross head 28 slidably mounted along the guide 24, this c"oss head carrying a wrist pin 29 with which the connecting rod 21 above described is connected.

The cylinder block 23 is of the usual or well known double walled construction to provide a water jacket 30 provided for cool ing purposes, any ordinary or preferred inlet and outlet connections, not shown, being provided therefor. The top of the cylinder 31 within the cylinder block is closed by a head of hollow formation having connected therewith a pipe or conduit 33 which communicates with a chamber 34 formed within an extension or housing member 35 on one side of the cylinder block.

The cylinder block is provided with two separate ports 36 and 37 which lead into the chamber 34, these ports being separated by a partition 38. It should be stated that communication between the chamber 34 the ports is controlled by means of valve mechanism to be described. The chamber 34 is adapted to be connected with a conduit 39 which leads from any suitable carbureter, not shown, so that an explosive mixture may be supplied to'the chamber and eventually to the engine in a manner to be described. The top wall 40 of the chamber 34 is provided with two valve openings and seats 41 and 42 with which cooperate valves 43 and 44 carried by depending valve stems and 46 urged into closed position by spring devices 47 and having suitably connected therewith push rods 48 and 49 terminating in heads 50 engaged by suitable cams 51 on the cam shaft 16. The arrangement of the cams is of course such that when one push rod is 'levated the other is in lowered position, and vice versa. The top walls 52 of the passages 53 which are adapted to establish coiin'uinication between the ports 36 and 37 and the chamber 34 are preferably provided with threaded openings 54 normally closed by removable screw plugs 55 provided for the purpose of permitting access to the valves 43 and 44 for effecting grinding or replacement thereof, as may be required after the engine has been in service for a prolonged period. ()bviously, in view of the opposed relation of the cams 51 cooperating with the push rods 48 and 49, the valves 43 and 44 will be opened and closed in alternation for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

At a point intermediate its length, the

cylinder is provided with an exhaust port 56 with which may be connected any suitable exhaust pipe 57 or which may be permitted to discharge directly into the atmosphere, this detail being immaterial. It might 3e mentioned in passing that the valve 43 may be considered the intake valve, the valve 44 the discharge valve, and the port 56 of course the exhaust.

The bottom wall 58 of the cylinder head end engaged by a cam on the cam shaft 16 in the same manner as the head 50 on the lower ends of the push rods 48 and 49 are engaged by the earns 51. Ubviously, at certain in the rotation of the cam shaft 16, the rocker arm 63 will be operated to open the valve 69, closing thereof being subsequently ellected means of the springs 62.

T ltion of the explosive charge which enters the engine from time to time or at the different cycles thereof may be eli'ected by means of any suitable ignition circuit, system or apparatus embodyingor connected with an ordinary or any preferred type of spark plug 65 mounted'in the cylinder head, or at any other place, as may be preferred.

Mounted on the piston rod 27 within the cylinder 31 is a compression piston 66 and a power piston 67, both suitably packed with piston rings or the like and mounted of course in the proper relation with respect to each other upon the piston-rod 27.

In explaining the operation of the engine up to this point, let it be assumed that a start is made with the crank 22 at the bottom of the stroke, both pistons 66 and 67 and the cross head 28 being at their lowermost positions. Assuming that the start is made on the upstroke of the piston, the valve 43 opens, the opening controlled thereby being open to the carbureter. The lower piston 66 then sucks in a charge of-explosive mixture while the power piston 67 is entirely without charge. The lower piston 66 reaches a point to within say one-eighth of an inch of the upper limit of its stroke and at this point the valve 43 closes. Coming down on the other half of the stroke, the lower piston 66 compresses the charge previously drawn in by the opening of the valve 43 and this compression occurs until both pistons arrive to a point within approximately one-half an inch of the bottom of their stroke. At this point, the valve44 opens, then three degrees later, with respect to the movement of the crank shaft, the valve 60 opens. The charge previously compressed below the piston 66 then passes out through the port 37 and valve seat 42 through the conduit or pipe 33 and then passes through the, valve opening 59 into the cylinder above the upper piston and beyond the top wall of the cylinder head 67. 'As the pistons again'rise on the second revolution, the valve 43 opens, permitting a fresh charge to enter while the upper piston 67 is compressing the chargebetween it and the top of the cylinder. reach a point within twent cylinder head, with respect. to the rotation of the crank shaft, the compressed charge is ignited and the pistons wardly on their second stroke. As these'pistons reach a point within 'approximatelya half inch of the bottom, the valve 14 opens and the top piston 67 is just starting to uncover the exhaust port 56. When the pistons reach the lower end of their stroke, the ex haust port 56 is entirely openedso that the burnt gases from the ignited charge may escape into the atmosphere. This is the complete cycle of operation in so .far as the explosive feature is concerned.

An important feature in the construction and arrangement of this engine is the provision of a novel oiling system which may in clude a force feed, oil cup or a combination of both, or in fact any other equivalent arrangement whereby oil may enter the cylinder at opposite sides as, for instance, through the pipes indicated at 68 and 7 7 the cylinder wall being correspondingly ported at diametrically opposite points topermit this. Attention is directed to the fact that these oil holes are located at the centerwith respect to the two pistons and it will therefore be apparent that there will never be any back pressure on the oil cups or other feed means inasmuch as there is always a charge beneath the lower piston 66. It will also be observed that there is a cushioning or rather taking off of the jar from the reciprocating parts, a feature which cannot ordinarily be accomplished in the regular type of oil or gas motor. It will also be seen that there is a possibility of obtaining a perfect mixture in the motor especially for the reason that the charge is initially sucked into the motor, compressed and then transferred to the explosion chamber, the entire movement occurring at high velocity which will certainlv insure perfect combustibility. Anot ier feature of advantage is that the valves 43 and 4A are always cooled by the water jacket structure and that the Valve 60 will not warp owing to the fact that there is always a charge going past it. The elimination of the usual type of poppet exhaust valve will be of. great benefit inasmuch as there is danger of warping, in case one is provided, owing to the intense heat generated at this particular point.

From the foregoing description and a.

of the drawings, it will be apparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed, easily assembled and controlled internal combustion motor which will possess all the advantages ascribed to it in the introstudy When the pistons I V tage is that degrees of the 67 and 66'start downwithin the crank case cannot become ductory remarks and which should have a long life and give unusually satisfactory service. r j

Another'very important feature of advanowing to the provision of the cross head 28 which cooperates with the guides 24, there will never at any time'be any lateral strain upon the pistons 66 and'GZ, it be ng quite obv ous that therefore the pis- "tons may glide upwardly and downwardly in a'truetreciprocatory fashionwithout there I being any likellhood of lateral strain coming upon the cylinder walls'and pistons and causing them to wear'out of round. This is considered to be one of the most important features of the invention and due stress must be laid thereon. Furthermore, lubricant cut or diluted by gasoline in'the'cylinder inasmuch as the packing gland or stuffing box will positively preclude the passage of any gasoline into the crank case.

\Vhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it

should be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, I claim 2-- I 1. In an internal combustion engine, a

crank case, a crank shaftjournaled there- 7 through and having a crank portion, a cam shaft journaled through the crankcase and operatively connected with the crank shaft for being driven thereby, a cylinder block mounted upon the crank case and havin a cylinder therein, a cylinder head at the upper end of the block, a cross head slidable axially of the cylinder and cross head guide and carrying a cross head slidably mounted along the guide, a-connecting rodv connected with the cross head and with the crank portion of the crank shaft, a pair of spaced pistons carried by one constituting a power piston and the other a charge compressing piston, valve means for permitting an explosive mixture 7 to be introduced within the cylinder beneath the compression piston, transfer means for conducting said compressed charge into the plosive charge to enter beneath the compresguide extending down lnto the crank case, a PlStOIl the piston rod and I sion piston, valved means permitting passage of the compressed charge from the space beneath the. compression piston into the top of the cylinder, valve controlled means for controlling entrance of the compressed charge from the top of the cylinder into the cylinder, and the side of the cylinder being provided with an exhaust port controlled by the power piston.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a crank case, a crank shaft journaled therethrough and having a crank portion, a cam shaft journaled through the crank case and operatively connected with the crank shaft for being driven thereby, a cylinder block mounted upon the crank case and having a cylinder therein, a cylinder head at the upper end of the block, a cross head guide extending down into the crank case, a piston slidable axially of the cylinder and cross head guide and carrying a cross head slidmea ssably mounted along the guide, a connecting rod connected with the cross head and with the crank portion of the crank shaft, a pair of spaced pistons carried by the piston rod and one constituting a power piston and the the compressed charge to enter the upper end of the cylinder and the side of the cylinder being provided'with an exhaust port controlled by movement of the power iston, the operating means for the valves including 31118 on the cam shaft and push rods opera-tively connected with the stems of the valves and engaged by cams on the camshaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

OSCAR J. EGKLAND. 

